All states
and territories have some form of health and safety legislation, which
generally covers the same areas as the federal legislation. Federal
legislation allows state legislation to remain valid and the state legislation
operates in a way that does not affect the operation of the federal
legislation. As an employer you must provide a safe and healthy workplace for
your workers and contractors as a matter of law. This includes:
•
providing and maintaining safe plant (such as machinery and equipment)
and safe systems of work (such as controlling entry to high
risk areas,
controlling work pace and frequency and providing systems
to prevent falls
from heights)
•
implementing arrangements for the safe use, handling, storage and
transport of chemicals (such as dangerous goods and other
harmful
materials)
•
maintaining the workplace in a safe condition (such as ensuring fire exits
are not blocked, emergency equipment is serviceable, and
the worksite is
generally tidy)
•
providing workers and contractors with adequate facilities (such as clean
toilets, cool and clean drinking water, and hygienic eating
areas)
•
making sure workers have adequate information, instruction, training and
supervision to work in a safe and healthy manner.
You must also:
•
adequately monitor your workers' health (such as providing hearing tests
for workers exposed to high noise levels, providing blood
tests for workers
exposed to lead and monitoring fatigue levels of transport
and other
workers)
•
keep information and records relevant to your workers' health and safety
(such as records of biological monitoring, asbestos
assessments, first aid
records and relevant medical information)
•
employ or engage people with the necessary qualifications or expertise to
advise you on health and safety issues affecting your
workers
•
consult with employees on matters that may directly affect their health,
safety or welfare. Where the employees are represented by a
health and
safety representative (HSR), the HSR must also be involved
in the
consultation
•
nominate a senior management representative (or yourself) to deal with
workers and their health and safety representatives in
resolving health
and
safety issues at the workplace
•
provide your workers with information in the appropriate languages about
your workplace health and safety arrangements, including
the names of
those to whom the workers can make an inquiry or complaint.
Workplace health and safety is not just about physical injury. Mental
disorders resulting in a compensation claim, rate consistently high across all
major occupation groups and was the second highest reason overall for claims
for compensation.
Over the next three years, WorkSafe
will increase the number of investigators by 50% in order to significantly
enhance the number and timeliness of enforcement outcomes in WorkSafe
investigations. 84% of investigations into breaches of health and safety
proceeded to legal review (Annual Report 2008, WorkSafe Victoria). Of those
cases going to court, WorkSafe were successful in 90% of cases.
Statistics -
•
Preliminary data for 2005-06
reports the transport and storage industry
accounted for the largest number of fatalities (41), followed by
construction (33) and manufacturing (28).
•
Reflecting Australia’s ageing labour force, the proportion of claims for
employees aged 45
years or more increased from 33 per cent in 1997-
98 to 39 per cent
in 2004-05.
• The
Compendium found 73% of the serious claims involved injury, while
27% were
related to diseases. The most common injury was sprains and
strains of
joints and adjacent muscles.
Penalties for
Non-Compliance
Penalties
may vary from state to state, however in Victoria, the maximum penalty for a
general breach of duties is $943,290* for corporations, and $188,658* for
individuals. See the Case Study below for further information. In addition,
WorkSafe is looking beyond fines as a remedy, increasing the use of innovative
penalties available under the OHS Act. Six enforceable undertakings have been
imposed on employers to alter workplace practices following a breach. In one
case a half page advertisement was placed by an employer in the Geelong
Advertiser to highlight the need for forklift safety. WorkSafe also acts to
ensure that workers, employers and service providers comply with their legal
obligations to support the rehabilitation of injured workers. Thirty six
prosecutions were completed under the Accident Compensation Act during 2008.
The Solution
Quantum HR
can assist your organization to ensure it better complies with health and
safety obligations and reduce the risk of substantial damages and harm to
employees or others. By conducting a thorough audit of your organisation’s
existing policies and procedures, we can quickly and accurately identify where
you do and do not comply and assist you through the process toward
compliance. A small investment now, may save you many thousands more in the
future. Further, you will have the peace of mind knowing your employees and
other stakeholders are better looked after when at work. So don’t take the
risk of waiting until something happens, contact the professionals at Quantum
HR now!
1.
A man was hand-sanding a rubber-covered
roller when his clothes became entangled in the machine and he was pulled in.
He suffered horrific injuries and died at the scene. The man had worked with
the company for 13 years and was considered one of its most experienced
operators. The County Court found both the company guilty of inadequate
training and failing to provide a safe workplace; and the supervisor guilty of
inadequate training and supervision for the safe operation and maintenance of
machinery. The company was convicted and fined $345,000; the supervisor was
fined $30,000.
2.
An equipment manufacturing company fined
$5,000 for failing to provide an injured employee with his pre-injury
position.
3.
A worker sentenced to six months jail,
which was suspended, and ordered to repay over $50,000 for fraudulently
obtaining compensation payments.
*This amount is correct from 1 July 2007 and is indexed
annually.
